Applying for Italian citizenship is usually a long and bureaucratic process, full of paperwork. But can it be withdrawn after it has been granted or recognized?
There are many reasons to seek Italian citizenship, ranging from practical matters—such as shorter lines at passport control and the end of the need for residence permits—to the desire to belong to a country that has become your home or that was the land of your ancestors.
For those who obtain Italian citizenship as residents, whether through naturalization or by descent, one of the main reasons is security: the certainty that they will not be expelled from the country if there is any problem with their documentation, in addition to the freedom to enter and leave Italian territory without restrictions.
But are there situations in which Italian nationality can be revoked?
While theoretically possible, this seems very unlikely to happen.
There are very specific circumstances in which an Italian resident abroad can automatically lose citizenship.
Working for foreign states
Among these situations is the case of an Italian citizen who voluntarily enlists in the armed forces of a foreign government or accepts a government position in another country without respecting the deadlines established by the Italian government to resign from the position.
Furthermore, an Italian citizen who serves a foreign country during a state of war or holds a government position in that country, or acquires its citizenship, may lose Italian nationality.
However, there are few known cases where these laws have been applied.
In 2019, the current Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was among those who called for Italy to strip citizenship from Sandro Gozi, an Italian politician who at the time accepted a position as a consultant to the French government.
These requests were unsuccessful: the Italian Constitution states that a person cannot be deprived of citizenship for “politically motivated” reasons. Furthermore, Italy has signed international treaties to prevent individuals from becoming stateless, such as the 1961 Statelessness Convention, ratified by the Italian parliament in 2015.
Crimes related to terrorism
Since 2018, Italian legislation provides for the revocation of acquired citizenship for people convicted of certain crimes linked to terrorism.
This rule was introduced by the controversial 'Security Decree' (security decree), which also made the process of acquiring citizenship more complex and made life more difficult for refugees in Italy — although some of these measures were later reduced.
However, to date, there are no records of cases where this law has been applied to revoke citizenship due to terrorism-related crimes.
Not taking the oath
It is possible to lose Italian citizenship even before it is officially granted if the applicant fails to complete the final step of the process: the oath.
Those who obtain citizenship through residence or marriage must take an oath of allegiance to the Italian Republic (guidance)Only after this step do they become Italian citizens in fact and can apply for an Italian passport as early as the next day.
However, the oath must be taken within six months after the issuance of the decree granting citizenship. Otherwise, the right to citizenship expires, and the applicant will need to start the entire application process again.
Other citizenships
One way to lose Italian citizenship would be to acquire the nationality of a country that does not allow dual citizenship — such as China, North Korea, and Cuba. (see all here).
Of course, this is not something unique to Italy — Italian law does not impose a limit on the number of citizenships an Italian citizen can hold.
For this reason, or for other reasons, some people choose to renounce their Italian citizenship — which is legally permissible. The process involves roughly the same paperwork and fees as applying for citizenship.
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